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Thursday, February 12, 2015

Book Review: The Complete Guide to Writing for Young Adults (Complete Guide Series)

The Complete Guide to Writing for Young Adults
Edited by Gabrielle Harbowy
Contributing Authors: Adrienne Kress, E.C. Meyers, Deby Fredericks, Allen Steele, Leah Bobet, Fanny Valentine Darling, Julie Kagawa, Sassafras Lowrey, Laurie McLean, Pam van Hylckama Vlieg, Clay and Susan Griffith, and Leah Petersen.

Paperback, 208 pages
November 21, 2014. 

Publisher: Dragon Moon Press
ISBN: 9781897492819 ASIN: B00PYUSH0G

The Complete Guide to Writing for Young Adults is an essential resource for the emerging YA author. Here you’ll find honest advice from award winners, international bestsellers, and industry professionals.

If you’ve wondered why you need an agent, how to build your career, whether you should collaborate on that project, or how to write responsibly for a younger audience... it’s all here to get you started:
The Emergence of YA: Adrienne Kress
Age Considers Youth Ventures: Defining YA: E.C. Myers
The Problem With Parents: Deby Fredericks
Writing YA Science Fiction as if Science Matters: Allen Steele
More Than Girl And Boy Books: Gender In YA: Leah Bobet
Creepy Or Romantic: Fanny Valentine Darling
Making Your Readers Team Players: Julie Kagawa
Trans 101 for YA Writers: Sassafras Lowrey
Agent Secrets For YA Writers: Laurie McLean
Book Bloggers Are Your Friends: Pam van Hylckama Vlieg
The Best About Collaboration (and a little of the worst): Clay and Susan Griffith
The Home Field Disadvantage: Leah Petersen.

Unlike many craft books I read that mostly deal with the craft of writing such as point of view, description, dialogue, setting, etc…, this one covered various subjects like authentic representations of gender, creating team dynamics (including love triangles), co-authoring books, and writing authentic/accurate science fiction plots. All the essays written by various authors. Not just craft, but writer-agent relationship contributed by a real agent and how to develop a relationship with book bloggers when you are ready to promote the newly published YA book. Examples are given and many YA works referenced, where a potential YA author can read and examine why these particular books were chosen. Besides, as the agent who contributed remarked, one should “Read, read, read,” besides “Write, write, write.” There is also a great glossary of literary devices at the end that would be quite helpful for new writers.

If you are a beginner about to write a book or submit your first book to agents and publishers, this will be as useful as books on writing the craft. For a published author like myself, I found some information that informed me about subjects I did not know before. Like the authentic representations of gender. I think other published authors should check this book out. Easy read, the chapters written so that anyone can understand; it is a keeper for the writer’s bookshelf.

I gave The Complete Guide to Writing for Young Adults 4 ½ sheep.






Pamela Kinney

About the Editor:
Gabrielle Harbowy an American editor, anthologist, and writer. She is Managing Editor at Dragon Moon Press, a copyeditor for Pyr, an imprint of Prometheus Books, and a Submissions Editor at Apex Magazine.-wiki

Dragon Moon Press has been publishing award-winning fantasy, science fiction and how-to writing guides for almost 20 years.


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